Leicester’s fairy tale taking a grim turn
Soccer’s greatest fairy tale is proving to have the gloomiest of sequels.
Leicester, the unfashionable English club that enchanted the sporting world by winning the Premier League as a 5,000-1 outsider last season, plunged closer to the relegation zone in its woeful title defence after losing 2-0 at Swansea on Sunday.
It was a fifth straight league defeat for the stuttering champions and a 14th loss in 25 games this campaign. They haven’t scored in more than 10 hours of league play, stretching back to the final day of 2016.
With 13 games left, Leicester is one place and one point above the bottom three as it looks to avoid becoming the first defending champion to be relegated from England’s top division in 79 years. On current form, Claudio Ranieri’s team is heading only one way, especially with other relegation rivals like Swansea and Hull starting to hit form after a change in manager.
Ranieri’s job appears safe for now — Leicester’s Thai owner, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, issued a public show of support for the Italian coach in a statement this week — but something needs to change, and quickly.
“We have two problems: We concede goals and don’t score,” Ranieri said. “We have to stick together and find a solution. It’s not possible to continue this way.”
Striker Jamie Vardy leads the Foxes in Premier League goals with five — but that slots him in a broad tie for 34th among EPL leaders. Vardy had 24 last season.
It could get even worse, though, with two of Leicester’s next three games being against Liverpool and Arsenal. The team also resumes its Champions League campaign in 10 days with a trip to Sevilla for the first leg of their last-16 match.
Leicester’s league title looks to be heading to Chelsea, although the runaway leader had an uncomfortable time in a 1-1 draw at Burnley earlier Sunday. Chelsea moved 10 points clear of Tottenham and Arsenal, who are in second and third place, respectively.